New Year’s Resolution – Weight Loss

Next to quitting smoking, weight loss is the most popular New Year’s Resolution. Many of us will sit down December 31st and vow to finally shed all that extra weight this coming year. A few of us will succeed, but for most of us the good intentions and efforts will be gone by the time March rolls around.

Should we just give up and resolve to the fact that we just don’t have what it takes to stick to a weight loss program? That we just can’t take starving ourselves and working out for hours each day? Not at all! You can lose weight this year, you just may have to change your approach to the whole “weight loss” thing a little.

Why do we fail? We live in a fast pace society and expect results right away – yesterday if possible. We approach weight loss the same way. We are looking for that miracle pill, or the crash diet that allows us to lose 10 pounds every three days. It may work for the first few days, when we lose lots of excess water our body has stored, but this is no long-term weight loss strategy. Your weight loss will slow down, you get frustrated, and before you know it you are giving up.

The solution is simple – Take a more natural approach to weight loss. That means making small changes that you can stick with that will result in weight loss – but it will happen slowly over time. Start preparing healthier meals and cut out some of the high calorie snacks and drinks you have been enjoying. Replace that candy bar with an apple, the super-sized burger meal with a grilled chicken salad. Small changes like this will result in quite a bit of weight loss over time. You are creating habits that you can stick with the rest of your life.

In addition to watching what you eat and changing your eating habits accordingly, you should also aim for 30 minutes of physical exercise a day. This can be as simple as going for a walk through your neighborhood after dinner, or chasing the kids around the yard. Take a dance class, join a gym or go for a swim. Come up with a few activities you enjoy and make it a habit to move around at least 30 minutes a day.

Here is one more habit you should try to incorporate into your life – Drink eight glasses of water a day. Hardly anyone drinks the amount of water our bodies need to function properly. Headaches, tiredness and feeling hungry when we are actually thirsty are all side effects of this slight dehydration. Not only will you avoid eating when you are actually thirsty, but drinking plenty of water also helps our body get rid of excess body fat.

Incorporate healthy eating, exercise and drinking plenty of water into your weight loss New Year’s resolution and you will be much more likely to succeed this year.

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